Cornus drummondii (rough-leaved dogwood) at Midwestnaturalist.Com

Cornus drummondii (rough-leaved dogwood)

This small tree—actually, "shrub" is usually a better description—is an understory denizen of riparian ecosystems in the Mississippi watershed, where it is often found with common elderberry and riverbank grape under sycamores, willows, and American elms.

Like its better-known relative, flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), rough-leaved dogwood has leaves with prominent veins, arranged opposite each other on the branch. However, Cornus drummondii does not grow as tall as flowering dogwood, and its flowers and fruits are very different—as well as the texture of its leaves, which have a sandpapery feel when rubbed between thumb and fingers.

In stature, rough-leaved dogwood is a small tree or shrub, rarely exceeding 20 feet in height, with an irregular, open crown. Its trunk is hard to separate from other branches on all but the largest individuals, and reaches a width of 2–3 inches.

The bark is grayish brown and smooth on young branches; it becomes slightly to moderately scaly or furrowed as branches mature. Twigs are also grayish brown, and feature opposing, crescent-shaped leaf scars with three bundle marks.

Leaves are arranged opposite one another on the branch. They are elliptic to egg-shaped, but tapered to a point—and either tapered or rounded at the base, where the leafstem is about half an inch long. Leaves are 3–4 inches long and 1.5–2 inches wide; they are green and slightly hairy to scaly on the upper surface, but pale green and hairy on the lower surface. When rubbed between thumb and fingers, the leaves have a rough, sandpapery feel. The veins are prominent. In fall the leaves turn rusty red to red, usually fairly early in the season.

Flowers appear in rounded clusters in spring and early summer; individual flowers are small and feature 4 small, white to off-white petals.

The fruit is a small, round berry under half an inch in diameter; as it develops in summer the berry is green, but by late summer it turns white. The berry stems are often red. Fruits are consumed by many birds and mammals.

midwestern range

Cornus drummondii
mature fruits in late summer

Cornus drummondii
shrub-like stature

Cornus drummondii
flower cluster

Cornus drummondii
leaves: scaly above, hairy below

Cornus drummondii
branch

Cornus drummondii
young bark

Cornus drummondii
mature bark

Cornus drummondii
sapling

Cornus drummondii
immature fruits

Cornus drummondii
fall leaves

References: GN Jones 1971, Miller & Jaques 1978, Kricher & Morrison 1988, RL Jones 2005, Mohlenbrock 2006, Kershaw 2007, Sibley 2009, Voss & Reznicek 2012, Mohlenbrock 2014, Hilty 2017, USDA 2017.

Kuo, Michael & Melissa Kuo (October, 2017). Cornus drummondii (rough-leaved dogwood). Retrieved from the midwestnaturalist.com website: www.midwestnaturalist.com/cornus_drummondii.html